Streamwood shoves aside Dundee-Crown for first win

Effort finally yielded a winning result for the Streamwood girls volleyball team and first-year coach Lisa Vazzana Tuesday.

The plucky Sabres were beaten in each of their previous eight outings, but they refused to let another match slip away despite trailing 14-11 in the decisive third game against Dundee-Crown in Carpentersville.

A back-row kill from junior libero Elizabeth Simonelli knotted Game 3 at 15-15, and junior Maria Ranahan (10 digs) followed with a service ace. Those were just two of the plays responsible for sparking a 6-0 run that lifted Streamwood to a 25-20, 21-25, 25-20 nonconference victory.

"It was our time to shine," said Simonelli, who finished with 10 digs and 3 kills. "It was our opportunity and we had to take it."

The Sabres never gave up on defense, evidenced by one-armed saves in Game 1 by sophomore Brittany Kemp (6 kills) and Simonelli, both of which eventually resulted in Streamwood points. "You just have to go 100 percent for every single ball, and that's what we did today," Simonelli said.

Game 2 was a tight affair until the Chargers (1-3) gained breathing room by winning 7-of-9 points to take a 21-14 lead. The surge was capped by an ace from senior Lauren Mosher, followed by a booming kill from senior outside hitter Alexis Holm (7 kills).

Junior outside hitter Alexa Shemanske contributed 7 kills in the match, including 4 big hits in the third game, but the D-C offense was plagued by inconsistency throughout the match.

"I thought our passing was really good on serve receive. We really passed well," Chargers coach Tracy Williams said. "But our offense was just nonexistent. We didn't have anybody that could down the ball other than a few spots here and there.

"To me, it was like we were just observers instead of participants, and you can't do that."

Dundee-Crown pulled to within 20-17 in Game 3, but the Sabres countered with a kill and an ace from senior setter Alyson Montemayor and a spike kill by senior middle Paige Donovan (6 kills).

"I don't think we played our absolute best, but I think we played as good as we could together," said Montemayor, who recorded a match-high 8 kills to go with 13 assists.

The victory was the first for Vazzana as a high school coach.

"I honestly feel it was building to this point and we finally brought home that win," she said. "It's a great feeling. The girls are excited. I'm excited. I like the feel of it and I want more."